When did pro-choice become pro-abortion?

I have avoided writing on this topic for some time due to its sensitivity, but I saw something today that pushed me over the edge.

I was reading an article today about Sarah Palin and what went through her mind when she found out she was pregnant with Trig. She makes comments about deciding if she could walk the walk and not just talk the talk. Without mentioning the 'A' word she talked about how she thought about "changing the circumstances" and how "no one would know".

First of all, this sounds like the thoughts that a teenager in that situation would have, not a 40-something state Governor. What struck me, however, was how she could talk about making a choice, without using the word 'choice'. During the campaign, I also heard someone else refer to the pro-choice crowd as 'pro-abortion'. It really got me wondering about this divide between anti-abortion groups and pro-choice groups.

I have no problem with Sarah Palin's decision to keep the baby. Even after finding out that the child had a disability, she decided to keep the baby. Good for her. I have no issue with that. never in my life would I ever insist that someone terminate a pregnancy if they did not want to. That is their choice.

What it seems pro-life groups do not understand though is that pro-choice groups simply want women to have the option. The fact that Sarah Palin was able to even consider 'changing the circumstances' is what the pro-choice movement is all about. She, in effect, proved our point.

There seems to be a belief among some in the pro-life community that the pro-choice groups are insisting that all unwanted pregnancies be terminated. Or that abortions be mandatory if it is discovered the child will have a disability. That is not the case at all. We only want people to have all of the information so that they can decide what is best for them. We do not think anyone else should make that decision for them. And we certainly do not think that someone should be scared into making particular choice.

I recently watched the film 'Juno'. If you have not seen the movie, then you may not want to read the next two paragraphs as I will be describe one sequence from early in the movie.

This movie concerns a girl in high school that becomes pregnant and decides to keep the baby and give it up for adoption. Shortly after finding out, her first instinct is to go to a clinic with the intention of having an abortion. While on her way in, she encounters a schoolmate outside who is picketing against abortion. This classmate pleads her case to Juno, but Juno goes in anyway.

Juno waits for the doctor and thinks about something her classmate had said. The thoughts overwhelm her and she makes the decision to keep the baby. She runs out to the delight of her classmate.

This is the part that struck me as key to the pro-life vs pro-choice groups. To a pro-life group, if she had gone through with the abortion, the film would have been touted as left-wing, pro-abortion propaganda. But as a pro-choice supporter, I was in no way disappointed in her decision to keep the baby. I never felt that she had to have an abortion and any other decision was wrong. I was glad she got the information she needed, had both options available, and made the choice that was best for her.

There is no such thing as pro-abortion. It is about choice. Though she will not admit it, Sarah Palin made a choice and if it was not for the pro-choice groups, she would not have been able to.